He's right. It should be called suburban pop.

More "Rockabilly" from the 50's

Country music has not been the same since "Disney" invaded.

he's right. "modern country" is basically early 90s soft-metal balladry with the occasional fiddle thrown in. it's one of the most cynical, calculated genres of music out there.

i was in a store last week that had a modern country station on. i made the mistake of listening to the "lyrics" of one of the songs. it was some treacly crap about "my kids come in and hug me tight and my wife has the bedroom in her eyes." i almost began dry heaving.

here's the lyric. don't read it unless you have a puke bucket nearby:

He stopped me on the street,
he was wearing a backwards baseball hat.
I'd never seen the devil smile
but I bet it looks a lot like that.
From his coat of worn out rags,
he flashed me a plastic bag and said,
Hey, this will get you high tonight,
and I said,
No thanks, I get that all the time.

When I walk into my kitchen,
kids are screaming, dinner's burning,
and I'm reminded we've got PTA tonight.
When I'm kneeling down
and feeling all those little arms around me
and my wife has got the bedroom in her eyes,
Yeah, Buddy, when you get that kind of love,
it's the world best kind of drug,
and I get that all the time.

holy farking shiat. the hit computer that cranked out that dreck should be reprogrammed with a fire axe.

Discuss? Hard to argue with either point of his. It hasn't been "country" for a long time. The music part is, I suppose, debatable.

Simple test, if there are more dance moves than lyrics then there is a problem...

/Processed corporate crap of any genre is hard to call "music"

Atlpagan: Country music has not been the same since "Disney" invaded.

I'm going with the neologism "Pop-a-billy".

From his coat of worn out rags,
he flashed me a plastic bag and said,
Hey, this will get you high tonight,


Worst. Dealer. Ever.

Atlpagan: More "Rockabilly" from the 50's


Not even close. Most of the current crop of pop singers in cowboy hats wouldn't even know what rockabilly is. These days it's closer to watered down Bon Jovi with a little bit of fiddle and steel guitar. Rockabilly wasn't really all THAT different from the country music of the time, and it had balls. Craptacular pop stars like Keith Urban don't even come close.

I've gotten stuck listening to 'country' in various waiting rooms and from what I can tell there are three templates for songs these days.

And they all suck.

Add me to the "agrees" list.

The current "country" music is just soulless corporate Nashville pop and bad rock with a nasal twang.

Now excuse me while I listen to Lefty Frizzel's version of "Long Black Veil".

Sybarite: Worst. Dealer. Ever.

i'm guessing the lyricist has never seen a bag of weed let alone smoked any. hell, the song could've been written by the RNC.

HowlingFrog: Now excuse me while I listen to Lefty Frizzel's version of "Long Black Veil".

Oops, how thoughtless of me. Enjoy. (new window)

He still around?

Could swear by now they'd have put a wreath upon his door.

I've got an open mind. But now, you can't call rap, talking stuff like that, music. No, no, no, you've got to have another name for that."

The Devil Went Down to Georgia, A Boy Named Sue, etc., etc.

we got both kinds - country and western

For reference, see Robbie Fulks, "Fark This Town".

Country music used to be about getting drunk, getting beat up, or getting your heart broken.

Now it's a bunch of treacly stories about going to your job and coming home to your family. Bor-ing.

Ironically, he cut records with producer Billy Sherrill, who is responsible for smoothing down a lot of country music's rough edges with the countrypolitan sound.

FlashHarry: he's right. "modern country" is basically early 90s soft-metal balladry with the occasional fiddle thrown in. it's one of the most cynical, calculated genres of music out there.

i was in a store last week that had a modern country station on. i made the mistake of listening to the "lyrics" of one of the songs. it was some treacly crap about "my kids come in and hug me tight and my wife has the bedroom in her eyes." i almost began dry heaving.

here's the lyric. don't read it unless you have a puke bucket nearby:

He stopped me on the street,
he was wearing a backwards baseball hat.
I'd never seen the devil smile
but I bet it looks a lot like that.
From his coat of worn out rags,
he flashed me a plastic bag and said,
Hey, this will get you high tonight,
and I said,
No thanks, I get that all the time.

When I walk into my kitchen,
kids are screaming, dinner's burning,
and I'm reminded we've got PTA tonight.
When I'm kneeling down
and feeling all those little arms around me
and my wife has got the bedroom in her eyes,
Yeah, Buddy, when you get that kind of love,
it's the world best kind of drug,
and I get that all the time.

holy farking shiat. the hit computer that cranked out that dreck should be reprogrammed with a fire axe.

Whoa, we both used treacly. I guess it fits.

Bluegrass >>>>>> Country

In the 90s I saw a triple-headliner show with George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Don Williams. Hog heaven for a fan of real country music.

Country music shouldnt have flutes

/or samplers either

Psylence: Bluegrass >>>>>> Country

THIS THIS THIS

If you want good modern country music, bluegrass is the only option

"Old Number 7" by The Devil Makes Three, because they're great.

"i'm too country now for country - just like johnny cash."

- dale watson

Also, "Wagon Wheel" by Old Crow Medicine Show, another awesome Bluegrass band that's actively touring.

jchic: I've gotten stuck listening to 'country' in various waiting rooms and from what I can tell there are three templates for songs these days.

And they all suck.

THIS!! My wife loves what they call country. I've been telling her for the past few years there are THREE songs...the ballad, the mid-tempo, and the up-tempo. The Nashville studios just pass the same three songs around, and different "stars" cut a vocal track over it. IT'S THE SAME THREE SONGS!

/off to find me some Buck Owens

THis guy agrees (a little NSFW language and please excuse the whooping drunk chick, it's the best version I could find)

Link (new window)

Cowboy wanna be, pretty boy pussys, born without balls.

George Jones, the greatest white soul singer ever.

Rickenbacker The Nashville studios just pass the same three songs around, and different "stars" cut a vocal track over it. IT'S THE SAME THREE SONGS!

It's all about $$. They go with a safe formula that sells. If another Johnny Cash or Hank Sr. came along they would never get a record deal.

People want safe, happy, sober and clean. You know, real life music.

Oh my, how things have changed. My first gig as a singer was in the early 80s. I was in a country band and we were playing in a little club in Buellton, CA (the same place as featured in the movie Sideways.) Back then it had tractor seats as barstools and used mason jars as beer mugs. The restrooms had pictures on the doors but no labels: one had a half-naked woman on it, the other a half-naked man. I recall wondering which one was the ladies' room and which was the men's room.

One of the songs we did was Fleetwood Mac's Dreams. When we went on break after performing the song, the club owner cornered me and said, "You play any more of that heavy metal shiat and you can pack up and leave!" We decided not to play any Eagles that night, just in case. We did not return for more gigs.

It's very true what George said. Like some of the other people on here I agree that the only real country today can be found in bluegrass or Alternative country, the rest is just pop with a country label.

That was equal parts right on target and "Kids today only listen to noise!"

Someone needs to pull Dwight Yoakam out of Hollywood and push him back into the studio.

There's still authentic country out there you just have to look for it.

Old Crow Medicine Show
The Guords
Robert Earl Keen
Todd Snider (Still more country than Rascal Flatts)
Gillian Welch (with David Rawlings)
Nanci Griffith

i dnrtfa, but i agree wholeheartedly...most "country" these days is pop...and it's becoming less and less "pop with a twang" or "pop with a fiddle"...a lot of it is just pop, pure and simple.

there are some real country artists/bands out there, they aren't the cmt darlings though.

also, i agree to keith urban being in on the pop end of things, but that man can tear up a guitar...ever see him on CROSSROADS with john fogerty? fogerty did about 70% of the singing while keith played...and it was good

someone mentioned buck owens...on a high school band trip to nashville we watched a taping of a TNN live music show...it was an hour special with buck owens...i thoroughly enjoyed...most of my bandmates either didn't even know who he was or just knew him as that guy from hee-haw

Disagrees:


5 Shots of Whiskey

Pop country really sucks, though.

Thoguh: If you want good modern country music, bluegrass is the only option

"Old Number 7" by The Devil Makes Three, because they're great.

Nice, nice... try some "Left Me in a Hole" by Yonder Mountain to go with it.

This is old news; George Strait made the same point ten years ago.
Link (new window)

"I am what I am"...george Jones...1980. One of the greatest albums to drink adult beverages with while listening....

Godscrack: Rickenbacker The Nashville studios just pass the same three songs around, and different "stars" cut a vocal track over it. IT'S THE SAME THREE SONGS!

It's all about $$. They go with a safe formula that sells. If another Johnny Cash or Hank Sr. came along they would never get a record deal.

People want safe, happy, sober and clean. You know, real life music.

Yep, the almighty dollar. LOL...real life music.

El Freak: Atlpagan: More "Rockabilly" from the 50's


Not even close. Most of the current crop of pop singers in cowboy hats wouldn't even know what rockabilly is. These days it's closer to watered down Bon Jovi with a little bit of fiddle and steel guitar. Rockabilly wasn't really all THAT different from the country music of the time, and it had balls. Craptacular pop stars like Keith Urban don't even come close.

It's top 40 Pop with steel guitars. There's a reason so many former American Idol contestants(which is openly and avowedly looking for a "pop star") end up as "country" acts.

I think Shooter Jennings (Waylon's kid) said it best when he said "Today's country music is all about socer moms and mini-vans, none of my idols gave a damn about soccer moms"

yanceylebeef: For reference, see Robbie Fulks, "Fark This Town".

See also "Cumberland River" by Dan Baird.

Thoguh: If you want good modern country music, bluegrass is the only option

"Old Number 7" by The Devil Makes Three, because they're great.

X-Country has it moments too, it sounds a lot more traditional, which is odd considering Alt/X country is an outgrowth of the punk rock movement rather than the country one (Primus, Webb Wilder, Mojo Nixon and Horton Heat being some of the "transitional fossils" between the genres)

So many people have echoed this exact statement over the years, but it's always good to see one of the greats say it.

/saw George Jones back in 2005.
//was awesome

I've been listening to elliot brood lately
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8cTgQPH-qw

I'll agree with you guys, current country is more pop, less country, and it's crap. However, I do dig album of Texas Country drinking songs I've been listening to, it's pretty solid and most of it avoids the cliched pop aspects of current country.

The Felice Brothers
Drive-By Truckers
Guy Clark
AA Bondy
Will Johnson
Centro-matic
Ryan Adams
Uncle Tupelo
Son Volt
Jason Isbell
Lucinda Williams
Peter Rowan/Tony Rice

Just a quick list of current/recent bands who are more country than any of this Kenny Chesney/Taylor Swift crap

Another county heard from Link (new window)

Derwood: The Felice Brothers
Drive-By Truckers
Guy Clark
AA Bondy
Will Johnson
Centro-matic
Ryan Adams
Uncle Tupelo
Son Volt
Jason Isbell
Lucinda Williams
Peter Rowan/Tony Rice

Just a quick list of current/recent bands who are more country than any of this Kenny Chesney/Taylor Swift crap

Uncle Tupelo disbanded 15 years ago. I think that makes them neither current or recent. Still more country than the current crop o f"country" music.

/Would like to add Wayne Hancock to the list.
//nit picking for the sake of nit picking.